The present invention pertains to methods and apparatus for the determination of functional capability of bodies. More particularly, the present invention relates to apparatus and methods for quantitatively determining the relative injury or health of a human back.
There is perhaps no injury that a human body can sustain which is more frustrating and debilitating than back injury. However, no acceptable medical diagnostic apparatus or method has heretofore been developed which is suitable for properly evaluating the condition and/or rehabilitation progress of a patient suffering from back injury. This inability of the treating physician to quantify the extent of back injury and the recovery therefrom causes uncertainty in the treatment protocol as well as psychological uneasiness in the patient being treated. This inability to quantify back injury has unfortunately also frequently been the source of fraudulent medical claims against insurance carriers and the like. According to heretofore used techniques, the physician or physical therapist would generally ask the patient to perform some arbitrary task, such as exerting some force on the examining physician or therapist, or to perform a certain movement. The physician then endeavors to recall from his past experience whether or not such movement or force is indicative of back pain or injury. The reliability of such an inherently qualitative procedure is questionable and subject to error.
While attempts to provide a quantitative measure of muscular condition have previously been made, such prior devices and methods were not specifically directed or adapted to the diagnosis and testing of back injury. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,252,144 to Weigle discloses an apparatus and method which measures the force applied to various sensors. The disadvantage of such methods and apparatus is that muscular strength is the sole source of input to the diagnostic technique. In addition, the methods disclosed in Weigle generally require a relatively complex cumbersome, and expensive testing apparatus.